


Braids for a crush

by FreakyPseudWriter



Category: Naruto
Genre: Don't copy to another site, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Hair Braiding, Hair Brushing, Long Hair, Massage, Other, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, Tenzo has pigtails, Training, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 06:31:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17054936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakyPseudWriter/pseuds/FreakyPseudWriter
Summary: Tenzo's long hair is hindering him, so you offer to braid his long mane for a single day, just to try it out. And the boy has the best day of his young life.





	Braids for a crush

**Author's Note:**

> A request from my Tumblr-blog historicfailure.
> 
> Can I request a oneshot where the reader convinces Tenzo to wear his hair in pigtails for a whole day? Long haired Tenzo needs more love. Congrats on 100 followers! 
> 
> I hope I met the requirements at least halfway! :D

„You would be so cute with braids.”

Not again. Tenzo really had problems to not roll his eyes. Since a few days ago, you wouldn’t leave him alone about his long hair. To be exact, since the moment you had detangled his long hair after a particular straining and wild training session, which led him through a few bushes and thistle plants, what left some really annoying and pesky thistles and leaves in his strands, he had asked you to help him, as his only friend who wouldn’t make fun of him for actually needing help with his hair style.

But that awoke another problem. Since that evening of combing through the single strands, one by one by one, you had this fixed idea of braiding his hair to make it “more practicable” and “easier to handle”. And you just wouldn’t leave him alone about that!

But he couldn’t deny that your hands combing carefully through his hair felt incredibly nice. Still, he shouldn’t give in, even though that exact spot you just massaged really felt great…

“No,” he weakly shook his head, “No braids. The others would laugh at me.”

“But Tenzo!” his friend whined, all the while her gentle fingers continued to comb through his hair, “With your long hair, it would look so great! And it’s way more practical, you wouldn’t get your hair in your mouth or eyes any longer!”

“No.”

“Oh, come on!”

“Not a chance.”

In the small ANBU barracks, there was not much space for having friends over. Therefore, to comb in peace and quiet through his long strands, he had placed a small stool in front of his hard bed, while you sat on said thin mattress and hummed weakly while you worked on Tenzo’s hair.

He liked to hear your humming. He liked your hands in his hair, gently tugging at small knots and carefully trying to work through more pesky spots, when you thought it would be a good idea to bring that stupid topic up again. Tenzo was so close to just stop your combing, but then you started the favorite part of the newly born routine.

 

Your hands raked one last time from his scalp down to the very tips of his hip-long hair, only to sneak up again. Warm fingertips dug into the back of his neck, with enough strength to make the teen moan weakly into the ministration. Your thumbs worked their way gently into the splenius capitis muscle, while your other fingers spread widely out and rubbed in little, soothing circles over his skin.

“Just think about it,” your whispers were drowned out by the satisfied and rhythmic groans, totally involuntarily, “No more hair sticking under your tongue when you try to eat. No more lost seconds when you have to wipe your hair out of your eyes in the middle of a battle. No more annoying thistles sitting near your neck and scratching your skin. No more-!”

You found a particular tensed-up patch of muscles and dug your fingers into it. The short flash of pain, followed by the incredible relief when the tension went away without leaving a mark, caused the biggest groan of satisfaction to be ripped away from his lungs. Tenzo didn’t care if anybody from his comrades heard his sounds. It just felt too good to be touched like this, without any further purpose than gifting him relief and a little bit of personal attention. No hidden intent, no secrets.

Tenzo moaned again. “Yes, right there…” he mumbled, when your fingers slid further down to the trapezius muscle and worked more kinks out of his tightened flesh.

He had the distant feeling you leaned further in when the next words erupted right beside his ear, sending tingly shivers down his spine. “Just think about it. The next free day we have, I can come over and do the braids for you in the morning. Brush your hair, make sure the braids aren’t too tight, accompany you throughout the day, have dinner with you and when we are again in the barracks, I will do what I’m doing now for you. Softly loosening the braids, combing through your hair and massaging your scalp, just in case I made a mistake and made the braids too tight. What do you say, hm?”

“Hnnggghh…”

“Come on, Tenzo. You want it too.” More kneading of his shoulders, more knots loosening, and melting under your talented fingertips. Like they knew his body inside and out, all the little knots and kinks, created by the tremendous amount of training he went through every day.

 

So good. So nice. Tenzo let his head fall forward. His hair spread out and acted as a curtain, while the relentlessly gentle hands continued to dance over his skin, pressed and dug into his muscles. The boy felt like melting right then and there, melting and spreading out, being rocked back and forth by the force you put behind your motions. By the minute, he could feel his usual strength fading away, put into place by you and you only. God, if he could just enjoy this forever, then he would do anything.

Your voice was just another hum in the background. “You want that?”

Mindlessly, he nodded. “Hn. Yes… Please.”

Only when you clapped and broke the little bubble of transcendence around him, the boy realized to what he agreed to. “Wonderful! Alright, I think tomorrow you aren’t in for any ANBU missions and I’m also free, so I’m coming over at sharp 0700! See you then!”

And like a crazy whirlwind, you were gone. And like a true whirlwind, you left nothing behind besides some barren land and a flabbergasted, shaken-up Tenzo, who still tried to puzzle together what happened just now. His brain was still woozy from the earlier massage, so woozy in fact, that the full weight of the decision he unwillingly made only truly blossomed when he mechanically brushed his teeth and his freshly combed hair fell over his shoulder in a lazy curl a long while later.

She’s going to braid my hair.

...

Tomorrow I agreed to train with senpai.

His hand stopped, while Tenzo stared blindly into his own, black eyes. They were wide and didn’t blink one bit, like the eyes of a small rabbit in front of a snake. Then, he couldn’t bear the sight of his own face and hair anymore. With a low groan, Tenzo sank to his knees, all the while he couldn’t shake off the picture of himself with one of the artistically draped braids, ranking like vines itself around his head.

His senpai would tease him to death and would never allow him to live it down.

 

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The new day came faster than Tenzo wanted. It felt like his head only barely touched the pillow, before a loud and demanding knock woke him again, thundering through the small room in the ANBU barracks. His training and life-long induction to the shinobi life prepared him for this. Immediately, Tenzo stood up and clothed himself into the black and grey uniform, before opening the door and letting you in.

“Good morning,” you chirped, awfully cheerful for such an early start and for Tenzo’s own dampened mood, “And? Prepared for the big day?”

“As prepared as one can be.” Not at all. There was a slight sickness in his stomach, that was everything what he felt about the trick you played on him. Even though he thought you were pretty cute, there was no reason to forgive such a mean act of soothing him into a state of total relaxation, only to force him to agree on something he otherwise would’ve never agreed on!

Pretty cute, huh?

Quickly, the teen turned away from you. The telltale heat crawling up into his neck and face told him that he was probably as red as a cherry, a state you would immediately notice and question him about. Instead of facing you, Tenzo fiddled with the cat-mask, checked the porcelain for any cracks or weaknesses, all the while he listened to you rambling on.

“…I promise, if you say anything during the day, we can go into a calm corner and I loosen the pigtails for you. No worries about anything, and if you don’t like it after I’m done with you, then even that is alright. I just want to see if you will look as good as I believe you will look.”

He nodded only. The blush didn’t want to fade at all, the red only seemed to spread further over his face and neck. Tenzo tried to think of all kinds of uncomfortable things, like the teasing he always received from his senpai, the sore feeling in his muscles when he went through a particular hard training session, the pain of tensed up-muscles and knots in his back…

A tug at his hair and the boy swiveled around, only to spot you with your hands raised and a wide smile on your face. “Woah! Calm down, I just wanted to get started!”

Around your wrists were two black hair ties, one of your hands occupied with one of the gentle hairbrushes you loved to use.

(Also, one Tenzo learned to like, especially when you carefully worked your way through a particular nasty knot of leaves, dirt and tangled-up hair.)

 

Again, you gestured towards the stool, pushed into a corner of the small room and only waiting to be used. “Then, get on with it! We have a full day!”

Before Tenzo knew it, he found himself on said stool, back squared and arms crossed in front of his chest, all the while you fussed and danced around him, while the teen tried to ignore the pleasant tingles under his skin whenever you were so close that your face was barely inches apart from his. The concentration on your face was also adorable, and more than once he thought about his lacking bravery and the dumb urge to lean up and press a small kiss to your lips, pursed and sometimes you even bit down into the supple flesh; what made his heart pound even louder…

The next wave of blood rushed to his cheeks and with an inward groan, Tenzo closed his eyes, while your fingers quickly braided one half of his long hair to a neat and silky pigtail. Nimble fingers weaved, moved and brushed against his bare neck, only to bring the hair tie to the soft end of the tail and tied it closed.

“There.” Suddenly, hair tickled his nose. Tenzo blinked, only to see how you dropped his neatly braided, finished pigtail, with which you had brushed over the tip of his slightly scrunched up nose. “And? How do you like it?”

“I barely had it for a minute.” Well, the braid certainly wouldn’t hinder him like his free, long hair did. The end hung at the height of Tenzo’s ribs, thinning out, until the single braid ended with the black hair tie. He was glad you didn’t choose another color.

Your soft voice ripped Tenzo out of his thoughts. “Is it… Is it alright?” you asked carefully.

He captured the end of the braid between index finger and thumb, all the while you rambled on, the insecurity growing and growing with every word. “Okay, I know what you’re thinking. It’s too tight, right? It’s too much, too girly. Okay, just let me get this undone then, shouldn’t take more than a minute-!”

 

“No.” Just when you had plucked the braid out of his hand, Tenzo spoke up. Silently, but with enough determination to make you flinch backwards. “No. Leave it. I… I think I like it.”

Watching you, how the realization slowly dawned on your face like a sun rising higher and higher, made Tenzo’s breath hitch in his chest. Why did you have to look so beautiful when your eyes sparkled like that,  when your lips curled into that special, incredible smile; one corner of your mouth tugged higher than the other and the tip of your nose scrunching the tiniest bit…

“Great!” This time, Tenzo gasped audibly when you jumped forward and slung your arms around his neck. Out of his first instinct, he reached for a kunai, but then he consciously realized what you were doing.

You hugged him. He could feel your face pressing into the nape of his neck, his hair spilling around your head as you snuggled closer, he could feel your recently developed curves against his chest, always hidden beneath the bulky chunin-uniform…

Oh gods, why are you doing this to me? Please, don’t let me pop a boner, no boner, no boner, please, absolutely no BONER-!

Thankfully, you let go of him after a hug - which felt like decades yet like mere blinks of an eye simultaneously. Tenzo still tried to control his hormones, and tried to chase away the faint afterimage of your body pressed against his, when you were already happily chatting away and working on the other half of his hair. Faster than the Fourth Hokage himself, your fingers finished the next braid quicker than Tenzo could regain his composure, only to be faced with a small mirror you pulled out of a hidden pocket of your uniform.

At first, he couldn’t quite believe it. Usually, he would look like an unkept, wild animal, with leaves and dirt in his hair and face. When you had brushed his long strands, the boy would at least look halfway decent. But now, with his face free from any disturbing hair and residing dirt, he almost looked… Almost looked…

“Oh my!” Your giggle disturbed his train of thought. “You’re looking so good with your face for once exposed like that! Really,” another giggle, “Really handsome!”

And for the third time in the very short time span he was awake, Tenzo felt how the blood creeped up into his face. You? You, his crush since forever? You thought he was handsome!?

 

Meekly, he peeked upwards, right into your grinning and also strangely red face. A deep rosy-red, simply perfect on your features and so endearing that his heart jumped right into his throat. His blood murmured in his ears, drowned even his quickly beating heart out, until Tenzo could only see your endearing features.

Then, the moment was gone. You blinked, broke the eye-contact and straightened, while Tenzo shot up from his stool and nestled with some of the straps on his uniform, all the while you shuffled around, obviously trying to clean up the little mess you made while styling his hair.

“Okay,” you said while tugging away the brush into one of your countless pockets of your chunin vest, “I know you have training with your Kakashi-senpai in a few hours, but after that, we can go grab some lunch and walk around town. I want to check out the bookstore and look for some scrolls to write my own seals on it.”

“Didn’t the last one explode into your face?”

To his amusement, you squealed and flailed your arms around, what allowed the boy to calm down a little bit. “Tenzo~!” you whined, “That was a one-time thing, okay? I worked on the seal and I’m certain it won’t happen ever again!”

He could do this. Nothing was easier than talking to you, especially when you were in this chatty and happy mood. With a little grin, Tenzo touched the ends of the twin braids, which were not one bit too tight or irritating for his head. He had no idea what you were talking about when you mentioned these things to him.

The boy watched how you gathered the rest of your things in your hands, before waving you off with a small grin on his face, the pigtails dangling over his shoulders and not one bit in his way.

Maybe, today would be a good day.

 

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Wind crashed into his face as he sprinted through the trees. Small branches and leaves hit his nose. Tenzo looked behind him. No one. Okay, that was good. Quickly, he dropped to the ground and rolled in a nearby bush. Tenzo tried to catch his breath, but knew his enemy would find him if he heard only the slightest gasp. Quickly, he formed the signs for a wooden clone.

While the clone shaped itself from earth and water, the boy whipped his head around. Nothing was behind him, but his enemy wasn’t one to be to underestimated. His heart was thundering in his chest, while he breathed deeply in for the first time since the exercise started.

Kakashi-senpai was supposed to be behind him, but probably hid himself in order to surprise Tenzo as soon as he would drop his guard. But that wouldn’t happen. No today.

The pigtails were more than only helpful. Not once, the boy had to brush his long hair out of his face. Not even once, he had experienced any kind of pain from one of his strands being entangled in some branches and tugging him backwards when he was sprinting through the trees and hiding in bushes with full speed. Not once, he had to spit out some of his hair when it somehow made its way into his mouth. Until now, even the comments of Kakashi-senpai were at the count of zero.

They hadn’t spoken until now, though. Only a barrage of kunai had greeted Tenzo as soon as he set one foot on the area of the training ground his senpai booked today. From there on, it had been a constant exchange of long-ranged attacks, of traps and mind games, without actually seeing his opponent.

Silently, he ordered his clone to melt with a nearby tree. Time to set up a trap on his own. He was pretty sure he lost his senpai. At least, there was no sign the older teen was around. No sound emitted from the grass when Tenzo creeped out of the bush, crawling as low as he could manage over the ground and set up a few tags with symbols. Your tags, he thought proudly, before connecting them with an almost invisible string.

He worked quickly, but efficiently while sneaking through the high grass. Perfect conditions to set up a few traps, the strings would be nearly invisible. And just in time. Right when Tenzo crawled back into the bush, tying the very end of the string to a single branch, the well-known silhouette of his older comrade broke through the leaves. Nothing more than a whisper of the ANBU uniform accompanied his arrival.

 

At first, Kakashi didn’t seem to realize that his prey was closer than he thought. But just when he was about to pass by Tenzo’s hiding spot, the teen perked up, his nose scrunching up underneath that ominous black mask. Unerringly, he turned towards the bush. A flash of light, and Tenzo jumped out of his hiding spot. Two kunai were embedded into the exact patch of earth he just sat on.

There were no big words or promises in their training fights. Kakashi-senpai wasn’t one to boast or brag and Tenzo would never dare to talk about something which hadn’t happened yet. Without any preamble, Kakashi started attacking. Another barrage of shuriken came flying at the brunet. He dodged to the right. His feet and hands scrambled over the ground, and with a roll, he stopped, kneeling and his tanto brandished. One blink, and Kakashi was right before him, the lazy expression in his eyes exchanged for concentration and seriousness.

Sparks exploded when a kunai and Tenzo’s tanto met. For a mere second, the two boys fought with their strength alone, pressing back and forth, while their weapons rattled against each other. Tenzo could pinpoint the exact moment his senpai decided to make a joke about the pigtails. The black eyes of his opponent flittered down, got caught at the braids, only to flutter up again. Creases of amusement could be seen around the black and red eye.

With a low growl, Tenzo summoned every little bit of strength inside his body and swung his arm up from below, clashing against the kunai in a larger spark of metal, forcing the person in midair to fly backwards. Unfazed one bit, Kakashi flipped around and landed on his feet. In the arch, his fingers were already weaving handsigns.

Damn!

Tenzo followed suit just a beat slower, face tugged into a wordless snarl. Almost at the same time, they finished their jutsu.

“Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”

“Earth Style: Mud Wall!”

Instantly, the air was filled with the roaring of flames and the gnarling of earth. Tenzo felt how his chakra left him, hands buried in the earth before his knees. A wall of mud rose in front of his face. Heat prickled in the air, before the full front of the attack quickly scorched the built barrier. Tenzo grit his teeth, all the while secretly forming the signs of the next jutsu.

Earth Style: Hidden in Stones Jutsu.

 

Phasing into the underground was like always a strange experience. Tenzo felt at the same time very, very light and very, very heavy as he was pulled underneath the surface of the earth. Then, there was the short panic of not having enough air, to suffocate and never been seen again, but then the boy got used to it, like always. Due to his meager sensing of chakra, he had to stay close, what was dangerous. Kakashi-senpai was for certain better than him in the sensory location of chakra.

That’s why he positioned a clone of himself with chakra in the trees. Due to the speed of their little exchange, he counted on Kakashi’s first instinct to check his entire surroundings. He would find two sources of chakra and probably go for the one which was a bigger threat, while sending another, weaker attack towards the second.

Tenzo moved forward. His senses were sharpened while he cut through the earth like a knife through butter. Like expected, he could feel the rising attention of his target. A crumble, moving earth, then a hand grabbed his wrist. Tenzo was ripped out of the darkness and blinked at the sudden light, all the while Kakashi grinned underneath his black mask at him.

“I expected more from you,” he said and fully pulled the boy out of the earth, “This is seriously not what I thought of when we were talking about a training spar.”

Tenzo tried to be as serious as possible. “It was not my intention to disappoint you.”

“It wasn’t even half an hour.”

“I’m sorry, senpai.”

“Can we go for another round?”

“You mean, after this one ended?”

For the first time since Tenzo knew Kakashi, the other looked a tiny bit confused. His grin faded, only to be replaced by a slight wrinkling of his left eyebrow. Time to act. Behind his senpai, at least six meters away, Tenzo’s clone peeled itself out of the tree. Kakashi jerked around, but it was too late. The clone, knowing what was expected of it, slipped one foot underneath a nearby string and pulled the foot up. The reaction came instantly.

 

Slime exploded all around. Tenzo, who expected the attack, closed eyes and mouth and hid his nose in his arm, while Kakashi was hit with the brute force of liters over liters of sticky, gooey slime. The boy knew it would happen. The last time your tags exploded, he had to help you get your room clear of the sheer amount of slime covering every surface and sneaking into every little crack. It was nothing more than a prank-tag, you had explained with sparkles in your eyes and globs of slime still on your face and in your hair, but if you were able to increase the capacity of the tags, then the tags would be really versatile and could be filled with any kind of fluid possible. Currently, seals could only contain steady objects. Your invention would mean a huge leap forward in the seal development.

These and a few other, hazy thoughts flashed through Tenzo’s mind when the wave of slime crashed into him and his senpai before any of them could do more than gasp. In the split second before the slime could completely surround them, Kakashi wanted to flee. His grip loosened, muscles tensed and eyes shot upwards. To the only opening left, right above their heads. The brunet grabbed the other’s wrist. A betrayed look, and it was too late for more words.

Gooey liquid creeped into every nook and cranny of Tenzo’s uniform. Definitely not an experience he wanted to have ever again, but seeing Kakashi squirming and grimacing when the same happened to him was worth the hours he probably needed to spend underneath a shower. One last gulp of air, then the last bits of slime covered them completely, from head to toe. The annoyed glare Tenzo received from his senpai when they started to dig through their slimy grave was worth every minute he would curse himself for trying these seals out.

They broke through the surface of the pile of slime, only to splutter and spit out any possible essence of the goo.

“So…” Kakashi readjusted his black mask. “Care to tell me what’s up with the pigtails?”

Not one word about the little victory Tenzo just achieved over him. A feat he never had achieved before, the brunet should add. But he wouldn’t hold it against his senpai. Only inwardly, Tenzo celebrated his victory, while on the outside, he only tugged one of the braids free of the slimy trap. “Nothing,” he said.

“A pretty useful seal, I have to admit. And something I didn’t expect at all.”

“Yes…”

“Possibly from your friend you never miss to mention whenever we talk?”

 

Tenzo could feel the heat rising to his face. “I’m not talking about her all the time,” he mumbled in defense, all the while freeing his left leg from the slime.

Kakashi was already free and tried to comb his wild hair free from most of the goo, but was to Tenzo’s inner amusement, unsuccessful. His whole mop of hair seemed to have absorbed the slime like a dry sponge and with every swipe of his hands through his thick, grey hair, more and more slime came to light. “You kind of do.”

“That’s not true!”

“Last time we trained, you told me about her habit of snorting while laughing. I asked where we should grab some lunch.”

“You’re comparing pears and apples-!”

More annoyed swiping through hair, more slime covering hands, Kakashi’s forehead and ground when he shook it off. “I’m not,” he grumbled, “because this has nothing to do with apples and pears at all. And the fact that she obviously convinced you to wear pigtail-braids also stands in the room.”

Instantly, Tenzo tried to defend the braids. “They are really practical! Look, if I didn’t have them in these braids, I would be in the same predicament as you-!”

Kakashi sighed heavily. He sounded a lot like an old man right now, who had enough of the tricks and games of his grandchildren. “The main thing is, that you obviously have a thing for (Y/N). You do such a thing for her,” he gestured to Tenzo’s braids, who protectively shied away from his senpai, “I bet if she would ask you to jump, you would only ask how high it should be.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Kakashi dragged, with another deep tired sigh, his slime-covered hands over his face. Single globs of slime hung in his eyebrows, on his masked cheeks and temples. Traces of sickly green, sticking in crumbs to the older teen’s face as he looked at his kouhai, who had for a whole different reason something stuck in his throat than (Y/N)’s presence. “It’s definitely not. Just… Just watch out for yourself.”

Briskly, the older teen brushed off the last bits of slime off his vest, at least the part he could actually get rid of, only to waddle awkwardly away. Probably the slime went even underneath the tight armor. Tenzo grimaced as he moved only slightly. At least, that was the problem he had. If Kakashi-senpai didn’t have to suffer from some cold slime at his most private parts, then the world was just an unfair place in its whole.

 

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Tenzo was still busy scrubbing himself clean when there was a loud, distinctive knock at his door. With the speed shinobi were famous for, he jumped out of the shower and toweled himself dry, all the while your well-known voice echoed through the thin walls and wooden door. “How was the training with Kakashi-san?”

“Sticky.” He called back, and slipped into the black undershirt. “I tried out your slime-tags.”

Your surprised voice echoed through the small room. “Oh? And, how did he react?”

“Not at all. He just stared at the flood of goo crashing into him.”

Tenzo just had to grin when he heard your laughter. Quickly, he let the straps of the chest plate snap close and strapped on his pants, before opening the door and letting you in for the second time today.

And his breath was stolen right out of his lungs. This morning, you wore your usual chunin uniform, the bulky vest hiding most of your figure. But in the time Tenzo had lured his senpai into his trap, you changed your attire. A tight shirt, a single flower blooming right above your heart, loose pants and sandals, all light and fitting for the warm season. You beamed right at the young boy, who could again feel the heat rising into his cheeks at your mere sight.

So embarrassing! Stop it, you stupid-!

“I can see how well it worked.” Before he could react, you inspected one of his still slightly slimy braids closer. For that, you had to pick one of them up and lean in, right toward Tenzo’s face. Dangerously close. “But you didn’t loosen the braids. Just admit it, they start to grow on you!”

Out of instinct, Tenzo started to back away, sputtering and heating up even more. “K-kinda! I just think they are p-pre-pretty handy and st-stuff…”

You giggled, dropping the braid again against his chest. “Alright, I’m not going to poke you any further. I hope you’re hungry! I could eat a whole horse!”

And with that, you dragged the poor teen out of his little room, and Tenzo couldn’t decide if he was overjoyed or embarrassed to the very core at the feeling of your hand laying around his wrist, gently tugging him along the way, down the stairs and out of the building. It certainly felt too good to be true and like this, the boy decided to not worry any longer about his sweaty palms, slightly slimy hair, and the tingly feeling in his guts.

 

Like that, he was dragged along, simply happy and not at all worrying about the braids any longer. To be honest, it was quite nice to not have to deal with his massive mop of hair right now. Due to their thickness, it got pretty warm, together with the happuri he wore underneath the ANBU cat-mask and the additional layers of black and grey. Now, there was a soft breeze playing around the back of his neck when he wandered together with (Y/N) around the streets, chatting and laughing and always looking for a lunch-opportunity.

While doing that, your grip around his wrist loosened. But not to completely vanish, no. Instead, your hand simply slipped lower and entangled softly with Tenzo’s clammy fingers, finding unerringly the breaks between them and occupying said empty spots.

Tenzo had never thought his cheeks could get sore from smiling alone, but here he was, stupidly grinning while talking to you and holding your hand. Something he never had dared to dream about a few days ago.

He would’ve revelled in the simple sensation a little bit longer, but you suddenly stopped in the middle of the street, pointing at a nearby stand. “What about this one? I’m in the mood for Ramen today, or what do you think?”

Ramen. Tenzo sniffed the air, and immediately, saliva gathered in his mouth at the rich broth and scent of spices. There was only one Ramen-stand in Konoha which was able to do that. And indeed, they stood in front of Ichiraku’s, the boasting voice of the old owner already reaching his ears.

“Yeah, sure.” Tenzo smiled quickly at you and before he knew it, he was dragged into the small stall and sat on one of the stools, all the while you chattered about the new seals you wanted to create.

Just listening to you was a gift, and with red cheeks, Tenzo tried to give you his own insights about the seals of this day, while he tried to wipe off the sweat in his palms at his black pants. “… I’m just saying, if you manage to maybe integrate a timer into the symbols, then they could be even more useful. On top of that, it would be a double-edged sword. Either you set them off with the trap, or they activate themselves after a certain time.”

 

You pursed your lips, all the while swirling with your chopsticks through your ramen. “That’s very complicated. If I set a given time, let’s say 30 seconds, then the user has to properly calculate when to use them. They would be definitely useful for breaking through a barrier and setting up ambushes, but they would be even more useful when I allow the user to set his own timer. That is, unfortunately, a lot more difficult, due to the fact that I have to set up an infinite-!”

Suddenly, a plate of hot pan fried dumplings was placed right between them. The delicious scent instantly filled Tenzo’s nose, even though his stomach was already full from the majority of his ramen, and spittle collected in his mouth at the sight of the perfectly steamed little buns.

“On the house,” the owner boomed, who had placed the plate in between them, “For such a cute young couple, I just have to make this date at my stand a special one!”

Before one of them could say anything, the old man turned again to his big broiler and hummed a happy little tune, all the while Tenzo stared with flabbergasted horror at the plate, then at you. Your eyes were also wide and round, and just when Tenzo looked up from the free food, you also looked up. Your eyes met, entwined, only to drop again towards the empty ramen-bowls. Tenzo could feel how blood spread in his cheeks and when he peeked again at you out of the corners of his eyes, he was also pretty sure that you blushed too from the pink in your ears. Maybe a little bit more than him.

And for the first time today, Tenzo wished his hair wouldn’t be in the two neat braids. There was no way he could hide his heated face behind the thin tails. That didn’t mean he didn’t try, though. The additional embarrassment of threading his hands into his braided hair and finding himself and his blush still on full display was only barely covered by your bright smile, which grew even wider when you noticed that the boy noticed your look.

 

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The sun already started to sink when Tenzo and you finally vacated your seats in Ichiraku’s stand. There was no more time to stroll through the streets, whipped away by happy laughter, talks and more theoretical talks about new variations of seals, always provided new fresh snacks by the friendly owner. Even the walk back was pleasant, and by now, Tenzo didn’t even notice anymore that he had pigtails. His hair was just out of the way. He didn’t find a loose hair of his in his food, didn’t find them underneath his tongue or in his mouth, didn’t have to wipe them out of his field of vision the whole day.

He would go more often for pigtails. Especially when you were the one to braid them for the boy. But when the two of you stepped into his room and your nimble fingers started to unwrap the braids, Tenzo couldn’t suppress a little sigh of relief.

He totally didn’t notice that the skin on his head was strained. Sure, you tried your best to not braid the pigtails too tight, but they also had to be durable enough to survive a fight and wrestle with Kakashi. You knew that and had tightened them possibly more than you otherwise would’ve done.

“I know,” you winced, all the while working as fast as possible at the second pigtail, “I know. I’m so sorry, Tenzo.”

“No worries.” The boy combed with his fingers through the already freed strands. No dirt, only a tiny bit of residual slime which could be easily washed out. For the first time in forever, the teen didn’t have to sit down and pick leaves and crumbs of dirt out of his long mane. “You did your best. And that’s what counts.”

“Still.” Row by row, his hair gave away into light waves, formed by the hours of wearing the braids. “I should’ve considered this. It was your first time, after all.”

Tenzo noticed clearly how close you were. Heavens, he could nearly make out the single components of your natural scent by now. Ink for the countless seals, old and new paper, and something entirely else, something flowery and earthy, and something which made Tenzo blush and fidget once more on his feet.

The point was, you were way too close. By now, his skin was constantly flushed, constantly slightly reddened by the shyness and embarrassment coursing through his veins. Your fingers tenderly combed through his hair, your body was only inches apart from his and when your hands edged higher and started to massage his scalp…

He simply melted beneath the cool, calm touch. The slight ache in his head faded, caressed simply into the thin air, all the while you were so close that Tenzo felt your body warmth seeping into his own skin. And maybe, that was the best feeling of all.

 

But like always, the massage seemed far too short. Before he knew it, the overall discomfort was gone and you lowered your hands to your sides.

“And?” you asked. “How was your day with pigtails?”

At first, Tenzo wanted to blurt his answer out. Yes, of course! It was great! But then, his brain kicked in. Were the braids really that great in itself? Yes, they were handy. They were for sure easier to handle than his usual open hair, but were the braids truly the reason why his day had been one of the best of his life?

No. No, of course not.

If Tenzo wanted to be one thing, after all the years in Root and living with the casual lies and words with traps interwoven in them, it was honest. So, he nodded inwardly, before looking up into your eyes and breathing deeply in to steel his resolve before speaking up.

“It was a good day. But it became the best I had because you were there with me most of the time.”

And then, before the strange newly found courage left him, he quickly leaned up and pressed a meek peck to your cheek. Just a short pressure of his lips against your flushed skin, nothing else. Still, Tenzo could feel how new blood creeped up onto his face and surely formed all these ugly red spots all over his neck and shoulders.

You, in comparison…

Were even redder than him. Eyes wide and lips slightly apart, one of your usually so precise and gentle hands lifted and warily touched the exact spot where Tenzo had kissed you. Your fingers trembled slightly. Once, twice you blinked, before you shook your head the tiniest bit and seemed to regain some of your previous confidence. “Uhm… Y-yeah… That’s, I mean, I will… I guess I will see you tomorrow.”

What? You wouldn’t even acknowledge the kiss? The sinking feeling in his stomach made Tenzo nearly gag, but before he even had the time to sulk about his “rejection”, you had leaned forward. Soft, warm lips pressing against his cheek. Tenzo froze, but you were just as fast gone as you had descended upon him.

“So…” You bit your lower lip, twirling a single lock around your index finger. Tenzo couldn’t help himself but to stare at your lips, the same pair of lips which just had kissed him back, oh my god, did that mean-?

 

“Can I come in tomorrow again?” you asked, a small smile tugging at your lips. The most beautiful thing Tenzo had ever seen. “I mean, if you don’t mind…”

The boy could only nod. Blinking, he watched how you turned around, how you glanced over your shoulder, how you stopped for a second at the door only to wave at him, what Tenzo answered mechanically, before you left his small room.

The boy sat on his bed, flabbergasted beyond the capabilities of his brain. Only slowly, the realization grew on him. (Y/N) kissed me back. I kissed her. She-! I-! We-!

A strange feeling rose in his chest. At first, Tenzo couldn’t quite decipher it, but when the first giggle fell out of his mouth, he just allowed himself to fall backwards into his hard mattress, arms outstretched and laughing from the sheer knowledge that whatever he felt for you was recuperated.

“Oh man,” he breathed, when the first waves of laughter died down, “I love pigtails.”

After all, they brought him the best day of his young life.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Proofread by the awesome Chisie! Thank you very much! :D


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